More than meets the eye
by The Lion's Lamb
Summary: ON A TEMPORARY HIATUS! A part of Sara's past catches up with her and she is forced to do something that doesn't come easily for her. Look inside for better summary! Will be NS pairing! Please review!
1. Chapter 1

**Summary: A part of Sara's past catches up with her and she is forced to do something that doesn't come easily for her. What will this piece of the past bring and how will it affect Sara's relationships with her co-workers? Will be N/S pairing, I promise! You just have to trust me!**

**Disclaimer: You know, so many people make this thing funny but I just can't think of a way to spiffy it up! Oh well! I don't own any of the characters except Emily! She's a complete figment of my imagination!**

**A/N: Thanks to everyone who reviewed my first fic, 'Finally' ! Do you think I should continue it? E-mail me to let me know! Thanks!

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**More than meets the eye**

He stared through the glass window at her. Her eyes were focused on the little girl in the interrigation room, but there was a far-off look in them. He knew that look. He'd seen it many times before. She was deep in thought. But there was something…else, there. Something you only see when a mother looks at her child.

'_Strange…_' he thought. This confused him. She never seemed much like the type for kids, not like Catherine anyway. The longer he watched her the more he realized how different she was now than she had been when she first came to work here. She had grown up. She was no longer a giddy college girl, but a women. She had matured, emotionally, physically…… Her features reavealed the strain of her work and her soul bore the scars of her past, but she loved what she did. And she was good at it too. Nothing could break the strong-spined women before his eyes, not even his beloved creepy crawlies anymore, though she still didn't like them.

But now as he watched her, she looked fragile, like she would fall apart at any moment. This worried him. The last few days had been hell for her. She was usually not one to outwardly show such strong emotions towards another human being, much like himself.

'_Well except when you piss her off._' He thought with a small smile. He watched her a few moments longer, not wanting to tell her what he knew. He hadn't belived it at first, he had refused to believe it. But evidence doesn't lie. He was always saying that to people, knowing it was the truth, but now…… He had made Greg run it three times, every time the results came back the same. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and walked through the door.

"Hey." He said quietly. She looked up at him.

"Hi." She replied. '_Uh-oh, something's up_.' She thought turning back to the window. He noticed her gaze soften as her eyes fell upon the child in the interrigation room.

"She's as beautiful as her mother." He said quietly. She turned quickly at his words, the look in her eyes changing drastically. The warmth and curiousity was replaced with uneasyness and…..sorrow?

"You found her mother?" Whatever was going on behind her eyes didn't show itself in her voice. He didn't say anything, just stared at her. Ok now she was confused.

"Grissom?" Still he said nothing. Finally he handed her a file folder. She took it and glanced up at him as she opened it. Inside the folder was the typical DNA match report that she was so familiar with. She studied it for a moment and looked up at him.

"Ok, they match. So who's this?" she asked, pointing to the second chart.

'_God give me strength…._' He thought. He'd never been much of a religious person, but times like this……he hoped, for her sake, that there really was a loving God.

"Grissom? Grissom!" He snapped back into reality. "Who's DNA is it?" Sara was getting irritated now.

"It's…..yours." he said in his erriely serene voice. She just stared at him.

"What?" she asked, as if she hadn't heard him correctly.

"The DNA is yours."

"There's got to be a-"

"I had Greg run it three times. There's no mistake." She stood there, stunned and speechless. "_Your_ DNA has 7 alleles in common with _hers_." He said pointing to the little girl in the interrigation room. Sara's legs felt like jelly as the folder fell to the floor.

"But……how- how did you…..how, no." She glanced down at the folder laying open on the floor, as if it were mocking her.

"Sara-"

"No!" She started backing away from the folder, like it were a snake about to strike. He took a step towards her. Her back was almost against the wall when her knees buckled and her legs gave out under her. Grissom jumped and , somehow, caught her just before she hit the floor. Tears were running down her face now. She clung to him as sobs racked her body.

Not exactly knowing what to do, (handling emotions on the job was more of Catherine's thing) he gently rocked her back and forth.

"I-it c-can't b-be!" she sobbed over and over again. The door swung open at that moment. Nick stood there, his eyes wide with confusion.

"What happened!" His voice cracked with emotion and he suddenly felt sick to his stomache. He'd never seen Sara like this and it cut through his heart like a knife, not to mention scare him silly.

"What happened!" he shouted again.

"Hush!" Grissom snapped. "And move!" He scooped Sara into his arms and carried her out of the room.

"What's going on!" Nick asked again. He was beginning to panic now. Grissom didn't say anything and just kept walking. He recieved strange looks from people and whispers followed him down the hall to his office. He knew once Sara had calmed down she would kill him for parading her down the hall like this, but right now he didn't care. It seemed like hours before he finally reached his office at the end of the hall. He closed the door with his foot and then carefully layed Sara down on the couch.

She had stopped sobbing now, but her eyes were closed and silent tears streaked her cheeks. He sat down on the edge of the couch next to her. Leaning over, he put his hand on her jaw and wiped the tears away with his thumb. At this Sara's eyes flew open. She stared up at him in astonishment. After a moment she placed her hand on his and closed her eyes. He felt her muscles relax as she took a deep breath. Sara layed there for a moment relishing his touch and trying to get her emotions under control. (She hated not being in control of something as silly as her emotions.)

'_I wonder what she's thinking._' Grissom thought as a faint smile crossed her distraught features. Finally Sara's hand fell to the couch and she opened her eyes. But she didn't look at him.

"Are you ok?" he asked softly, tilting her face up so she would look at him. Her eyes locked with his. She opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out. She looked away and tried again.

"I-she-I can't do this right now." She said moving to get up. He stopped her with a hand on her arm. "Grissom, please……" she looked like she might start crying again. "I-I can't, please, just let me go." He looked deeply into her eyes, and for some reason he couldn't let her go. In fact, he didn't _want_ to let her go. He wanted to hold her until she felt better and all her troubles were gone. He took his hand off her arm. She thought he was letting her leave.

'_Good._' She thought. '_I need to get away from here. I need to be alo-_' Sara was jerked from her thoughts. Grissom had slipped his hand into hers. She looked down at their hands, at their entwined fingers. She looked back up at him and their eyes locked once more. He looked into her eyes almost as if he was looking for something he'd lost.

"What are you looking for?" she whispered. He didn't say anything for a moment.

"……Nothing..…anymore." he replied just as softly, putting his hand on her jaw again. Suddenly the door flew open. Catherine and Warrick stood there, Nick behind them. A look of surprise passed over each of their faces like a wave and all three jaws dropped. Catherine regained her composure first.

"Nick told us something happened to Sara and…..uh…" Sara could feel the butterflies in her stomache take flight. Nick looked like he'd been stabbed in the stomache when he noticed Sara and Grissom holding hands. The look on Nick's face suddenly made Sara feel……guilty. She turned away from Grissom trying to pull her hand from his, but he wouldn't let her go. She quickly glanced down at their clasped hands, then back up at Nick. Then Sara looked down, almost like she was ashamed of something.

"Sara's fine." Grissom said looking at her. She gave a quick nod, still not making eye contact with the three people in the doorway.

"Oh, ok…….well, uh, I guess we'll….leave." Catherine said, not totally convinced, but not wanting to push the subject further.

"But-" Nick and Warrick started to protest.

"Nick. Warrick. Let's go see if Greg has our results ready yet."

"Uh, yeah."

"Sure." Reluctantly, they turned around and started to walk away.

"Wait!" Sara said jumping up. The force pulled her hand from Grissom's. Nick, Warrick, and Catherine stopped and turned back to Sara. "..…C-Catherine, could I, um, can you -can we talk?" She looked away , embaressed about how weak she must look in front of them, especially Nick for some reason.

"Of course." Catherine walked over and, putting her arm around Sara, led her out of the room.

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**A/N:Ha haha! Cliffhanger!Ok what do ya think? Like it, love it, or should I just stop now? Let me know by reviewing! If you're confused, don't worry! The pieces will fall into place in chapters to come! (If ya'll want more chapters that is!) Oh, and for all my fellow snickers fans: Trust me this will be a N/S pairing! I just have to set Grissom up to fall... (ha ha ha!) I'd also like to thank everyone (again)who reviewed my first fic, 'Finally'! Thank you so much! **


	2. Chapter 2

When they reached her office, Catherine closed (and locked) the door. She handed Sara a couple of Kleenax.

"Thanks." Sara said, dabbing her eyes.

"No problem." She replied. She sat down next to Sara and asked, "What happened?"

Sara didn't answer right away. "You know the case Grissom, Nick, and I are working on? The one with the 5-year-old girl?"

"Yeah."

"Well her, brother, was found dead in their house. Then when we were processing the scene, Nick found some blood that wasn't the, brother's, and that wasn't Emily's –"

"Emily?"

"The little girl." Sara explained.

"Oh."

"Anyways, we thought it might belong to her, parents. They're still MIA. I ran it through CODIS, but last I checked it was still searching. Then Brass found out that Emily's, father, has been dead for two years."

"So you've been looking for the mother?" It was more of a statement than a question.

Sara nodded. "I went back and narrowed the search to only women."

"And?" Catherine asked when Sara didn't continue.

"And Grissom brought this to me a-a little bit ago." She handed the DNA report to Catherine. (Nick had picked it up before he went to get Cath and Warrick and Sara had taken it from him when she left Grissom's office with Catherine.)

Catherine opened it and looked it over. "You found the mother." She said after a moment. Again Sara nodded. "Who's –?"

Sara slowly looked up at her, her eyes filling with tears. Catherine stared back into her eyes, her gaze never waivering. Suddenly it hit her. Her mouth opened and closed a few times making her look a little like a fish out of water.

"This is, _your_ DNA, isn't it?" Closing her eyes, Sara looked away as tears slipped down her cheeks.

She took a deep, ragged breath and cleared her throat. "…..Yes."

"How, I mean when -?"

"About five years ago. I was invited to a convention, a-an entomology convention. I really wasn't interested, but I'd heard the speaker was really big in the forensics field, so I signed up. Anyways, I met…….a guy there and he invited me out for coffee. We, umm, kinda hit it off…..and he asked me to dinner the next day. He was only going to be in town for a couple of days, so I accepted……and we had a really nice time. Then he drove me home, and…I don't know why, but I….."

"Let me guess, you invited him up to your place?" Catherine finished for her.

"Yeah." Sara replied meekly. An awkard silence fell over them.

After a moment Catherine asked, "Was it Grissom?"

"What!"

"The speaker. At the convention. Was it Grissom?"

"Oh! Uh, yeah! That was the first time I met him." A faint smile appeared on Sara's face as she took a mental trip down memory lane.

This triggered something in Catherine's mind. "Wait. Grissom."

"Huh?" Sara was pulled from her thoughts. Catherine had that look in her eyes, like she was about to solve the biggest case of the year. "Catherine? Hey! Catherine!" Sara could practically see the gears turning behind the other women's eyes. Suddenly, as though a light bulb had gone off in her head, she looked at Sara. "What!" the younger women cried.

Without a word Catherine jumped out of her chair and headed for the door.

"Hey! Where are you going! Can I go with you!" Sara chased her down the hall until they reached the DNA lab.

"Greg!" Catherine called. "Everybody's DNA, who works here, is in the computer, right?"

"Uh, yeah. Why?" Catherine pounced at the computer and worked on it for a few minutes. "What's she doing?" Greg asked Sara, who just shook her head in confusion. At the sound of the printer starting up, Catherine ran over and picked up the sheet of paper it spit out.

She read it over quickly and then stared at Sara. Their eyes locked in what could've been mistaken as a showdown from an old John Wayne movie. Greg looked back and forth between them, then he slowly backed out of the room.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary: If you don't know what's going on, you need to start at chapter 1!**

**Disclaimer: "'When I own CSI To-do list'- 1. Put Nick and Sara together. 2. Get Ecklie fired in an extremely entertaining way. 3. Get Grissom a girlfriend. 4..." Has any of this happened yet? Then I don't know own anything! Yet...(grins evily)**

**Short A/N: Sorry about the last chapter not having a little love note from me! I'm still trying to figure out how stuff works on here! Hope you enjoy this chapter! See A/N at bottom!**

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**"Cath, what is it?" Sara asked, confused. For a moment Catherine's face mirrored Sara's confusion before it turned to one of….relief? 

"I just ran the little girl's –"

"Her name's Emily." Sara said sharply.

"Emily's, DNA against, Grissom's." Sara nodded for her to continue as she took a deep breath in an effort to make the butterflies in her stomache stop. "They don't match."

Sara stared at Catherine for a moment, confusion clouding her eyes. "Well, yeah. I could have told you that."

"But I thought you said–But what about the guy you–it wasn't Grissom?"she asked in surprise. "But you're practically head-over-heels–"

"No, it wasn't Grissom!" Sara snapped. "Remember, we're not supposed to assume things, Catherine!" she said in a mocking voice.

"Well I was just 'following the evidence'!" Catherine shot back. "I mean, jeez, Sara! I walk in on you and Grissom sharing a moment, then you tell me you have a kid and that she was concieved at an entomology convention where you met Grissom, knowing full-well that everybody knows you have a thing for him! What would you think if you were in my shoes!" Catherine was almost yelling by now. Luckily Greg must have told everybody to clear out of the DNA lab because nobody came to see what was going on.

"We weren't having 'a moment'!" Sara muttered indignantly. "But I can see where you're coming from." She quickly added at the look Catherine gave her. There was an akward silence.

"So…..Grissom isn't her father?" Catherine asked softly.

Sara shook her head. "No."

"So then, who is? Her father, I mean."

Suddenly Sara looked nervous again. "Uh, I don't know!" she said just a little too quickly. Catherine wasn't totally convinced, but decided not to push further. At least for right now.

"What am I gonna do, Cath?" Sara asked, plopping down in one of the chairs. "The right thing to do is take her in, adopt her, right? I mean really, what choice do I have now?" Sara rambled. "I can't just give her up again! Once was hard enough! But, I'm not a mom, not like you! I don't know how to raise a kid! I'm not good with kids! I mean –"

"Sara stop!" Catherine laughed, holding up a hand like a traffic cop. "Listen to me, Sara. You are better with kids than you think. Remember the Brenda Collins case? You were the only one she would stay with, the only one she trusted! And how do you know you're not a mom? You've probably never been one long enough to know if you are or not!"

Sara's eyes had welled with tears during Catherine's speech. "But how do you know? About me being a mom, I mean. What happens if I mess up? I don't want her to go through what I did. I don't want her to, to end up like me." She closed her eyes as a few tears fell from them.

"Sara, look at me." Catherine said gently. Slowly the other woman complied and lifted her eyes up to Catherine's. "I have no doubt, that you can be a mother. I have no doubt, that you'll do a wonderful job raising Emily. And I have no doubt, that you'll mess up doing it."

Startled, Sara's expression turned from one of self-doubt and sadness to one of total shock and confusion. "What!"

Catherine smiled at her. "I said I have no doubt that you'll mess up raising Emily." Now Sara looked a little hurt, but Catherine continued as if she didn't notice. "I do it all the time with Linds! It's not like parenting comes with a users manual! It's be great if it did, but that's not how it works! You just have to play it by ear, do your best, and pray that they'll turn out all right!"

Sara sniffled and looked at Catherine. "You really think I can do it?"

"Well what have I been saying!"

"Thanks, Cath." Sara smiled and then did something that surprised Catherine. She gave her a hug.

When they parted Catherine said, "You're welcome. Now lets go get you cleaned up. Has Emily been told yet?" she asked, shifting into mother mode.

"Nope, not yet…."

When they got to the women's restroom and Sara had washed her face, she said, "Hey Cath?"

"Yeah?"

"I know we've had our differences and stuff in the past, but for a minute there you were…..you were like the mother and friend I never had. And that really means a lot to me."

Catherine smiled at her and replied, "Anytime, Sara. Anytime. Now lets go find the others. You know you're gonna have to tell 'em, right?"

"Can't they just find out when Emily does?" Sara asked meekly.

"You should tell them before. Because I think once Emily knows, you two won't want to be seperated any longer than you already have been."

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**A/N:HAHAHA! I TRICKED YOU ALL! Ya'll thought it was Grissom's kid, but it wasn't! Yay my plan is working! Anyways, I'd just like to say thanks to all who have reviewed my story! I hope ya'll are using your CSI skills to figure out where I'm going with this! (hint-hint) Sorry about the cliffhangers, (I couldn't resist!) but I'll try to restrain myself in future chapters!Anyways, I will be starting school on the 22nd so it'll be longer in between chapters, but they're still coming! Remember to leave me a review! Oh! One more thing! If ya'll read my other fic and liked it, do you think I should continue it? E-mail me or tell me in a review! Thanks!  
Spooky-Phoenix**


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary: See chapter one, cuz if you start here you'll be lost!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of them except Emily! She's from my imagination! Promise!

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Catherine and Sara walked into Grissom's office and were surprised to find it empty. Trading confused looks, the two women walked down to the break room. Grissom and Warrick were sitting at the table and it looked like Warrick was attempting to question Grissom about the confusing events that had taken place. Grissom, typically,was just staring into his coffee like it held the answers to every question ever asked by mankind. 

"C'mon, Gris! Why won't you tell me what happened! Is Sara ok or what!" Warrick was becoming increasingly frustrated.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Sara said from the doorway.

"Sara!" Warrick exclaimed, jumping up and going over to her. "Are you sure you're ok?" he asked anxsiously. He was doing nothing to hide the worry and concern in his eyes and on his face.

Sara gave him a small smile and placed a hand on his arm. "I'm fine." At Warrick'sdoubtful look, she added. "Really."

Warrick wrapped her in a hug, suddenly feeling like a protective big brother. "Alright. I'm just worried, ya know?"

"Yeah, I know." Sara said hugging him back. "Thanks." They parted and Warrick returned to his seat as Catherine sat down next to Grissom. Sara looked around the break room. "Where's Nick?" she asked looking nervous and disappointed.

"I don't know." Warrick said. "After you and Cath left, he disappeared."

"Oh."

"Why?"

"Well I just, uh, wanted to –to explain what happened, but it's ok. I'll just, tell him later, I guess." Sara sat down across from Warrick. He watched her take a deep breath and clear her face of emotion before she spoke. When she had explained everything and finished telling her story, Sara was starting to feel emotionally drained. The look on Grissom and Warrick's faces weren't helping her feel much better.

Warrick had a shell shocked expression on his face (much like the one Sara had worn when she found out she was pregnant five years ago) and Grissom…..well she couldn't really read his expression and that's what disturbed her about it.

When a few moments had passed and niether of the men had said anything, Catherine broke the silence. "Uh, guys? You still with us?" Warrick shook his head as if to clear it and snapped back into reality. Grissom's eyes focused and he looked at Catherine and Sara.

"Umm, Sara?" Warrick said reluctantly.

"Yeah?"

"Now don't bite my head off or anything! But , I gotta ask." He paused uneasily. "Who's the father? Do you know? I mean, is it, uh…" he glanced in Grissom's direction. "Is, uh, you know, Gris –"

"No!" Sara cut him off. "No!" she repeated. "Emily's not his, I mean, Grissom's not….her father." She looked over at Grissomjust in time to see a look of relief wash over his features. Suddenly Sara felt angry. '_He's relived!_' she thought crossly. '_I can't believe him! What's wrong with having a child? Is it because she's my child? How dare he try to make a move on me in his office! How dare he be relived!'_

"Sara? Sara!"

Sara came back to the conversation. "Huh? I'm sorry, I –I zoned out." She said pushing her angry thoughts aside. For the moment at least.

"Warrick was just asking you if you're seriously going to adopt Emily." Catherine told her kindly.

"Oh. Well of course I am! At least I'm going to try……. Why wouldn't I? Especially now that the foster system has failed her!" '_Like it failed me!_' she thought. "It's the right thing to do, ya know?" she continued, her voice taking on a different tone. "After all….she is my daughter." As Sara said this a small smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. When Catherine noticed Sara's smile, she smiled too.

"What about who's daughter?" Greg asked cheerily, coming into the break room. "Isee you two didn't kill each other." he told Catherine and Sara."I was afraid my DNA lab was going to get destroyed again!" They both gave him their respective death glares and he took a few steps away from them pretending to head for the coffee pot. "Uh, anyways, who's daughter?" Sara, Catherine, Warrick, and Grissom all traded glances.

Deciding to lay all her cards on the table, (the lab was bound to hear about it soon anyways, right? So what did she care if Greg passed the word around. At least it'd be accurate if _she_ told him.) Sara said, "My daughter."

That wiped the smirk off Greg's face. "What was that? Sorry, I think I just pulled a Grissom and went temporairally deaf. See, I thought you said you had a daughter, Sara." Greg laughed.

"No, you heard me right." Sara replied, giving him a completely serious look.

He stared at her, his smile slowly fading. "C'mon! You guys are messin' with me, right? This is all a joke to get me back for filling your lockers with frogs last week, right?"

"Aww, man! That was you!" Warrick asked angerly. "Man that was _so nasty_! My stuff was covered in frog slime!"

Greg grinned sheepishly at him, but when nobody said anything to deny the fact that Sara did indeed have a daughter his face faultered. "Y-you're serious? You, you really have a-a daughter, Sara?"

"Yes, Greg." Sara confirmed, nodding. Without taking his eyes off her, Greg stumbled over to a chair and plopped down in it.

"You ok, Greg?" Catherine asked with a small smile. Everybody knew that Greg had been nursing a crush on Sara since she started working here.

"Is the father here?" he asked suddenly, looking around. "I mean are you, like, hooking back up with him or something?"

"Uh…….." was all Sara could say as her eyes darted from Cathereine to Warrick and back.

"So then there's still hope for me?" he asked, sitting up straighter. "I like kids!" he added.

Sara couldn't help but smile as Catherine and Warrick snorted a laugh into their coffed cups. Even Grissom bestowed him a half-smile. "Uh, look, Greg. It's not that I don't like you, but…..you're just……I just don't like you in that way." Sara explained gently. Greg looked crestfallen. "I'm sorry." She added.

He was silent for a few seconds. Finally he said, "Um, I think smell something burning in the DNA lab." And got up and left the break room dejectedly.

"I think you just made his whole world come crashing down on him, Sara." Warrick said jokingly.

"Great, now I feel even better! Thanks, Warrick!" Sara said sarcastically, shooting him a look.

"Don't worry, Sara. Knowing Greg, he'll get over it as soon as he sees Mia in the DNA lab." Warrick told her, adding under his breath, "I know I would."

"Besides, you've got more important things to worry about right now." Catherine said with a serious expression.

"Yeah. I've got to tell Emily. And Nick." Sara was starting to feel those annoying little butterflies in her stomache again. An akward silence fell over the room.

Grissom, who had remained completely silent during all this, finally spoke. "Well, since Nick is no where to be seen, I think you need to go talk to your daughter." Sara looked over at him, as did Catherine and Warrick, and slowly nodded. Without a word she stood up and walked towards the door. Catherine and Warrick got up and followed her, Grissom bringing up the rear.

When they had reached the interrigation room where Emily was quietly coloring, Sara stopped outside the door. Closing her eyes, she put her hand on the door knob and took a deep breath.

"Do you want me to go with you?" Catherine asked, shifting back into mother mode.

Sara glanced at her and smiled. "Thanks, but this is something I need to do alone." Warrick gave her shoulder a reassuring squeeze. Then he, Catherine, and Grissom filed into the observation room.

Sara took another deep breath and entered the room where her daughter was, unsure of what was about to take place.

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**A/N: Hey ya'll! Sorry for my lack of updates! I've been really busy getting ready to start school tomorrow and then my TV and internet have been down since Wednesday! (it's been so awful!) Anyways it's fixed now...so yeah! I hope you liked this chapter (I kinda got stuck when I was writing it)! Don't forget to leave me a review! I see that a lot of ya'll have read this and haven't reviewed! I hope my writing isn't that bad:( Oh well! It might be a while 'till my next update but don't worry cuz it is coming along with the N/S fluff and stuff ya'll are waitin' for! Thanks for reading! Remember to drop me a review! Please and thank you!  
Spooky-phoenix**


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary: See other chapters!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything except Emily! Bummer...**

**short A/N: Sorry about the delay in updates! Sorry about how short the chapter is! I didn't intend for it to be this short! **

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The woman from Social Services was a pleasantly plump red-head with kind green eyes named Paige Miller. She looked up as Sara entered the interrigation room and gave her a small smile.

"Hello again, Ms. Sidle."

"Hello. And it's Sara, remember?" At the sound of Sara's name Emily looked up from her drawing and smiled shyly at Sara. The little girl had grown quite attached to the CSI since they had found her at the crime scene. Sara smiled fondly back at Emily who shyly returned to coloring with a content smile.

Sara sat down across from the small child and took in her appearance for the up-teenth time. Emily had dark, curly hair that brushed her shoulders, sparkling chocolate brown eyes, and soft, fair skin. A cute amount of freckles were sprinkled across her nose and cheeks and her hand-me-down overalls and pink shirt (which had once belonged to Lindsey Willows) hung loosely on her thin body. The most eye-catching feature about Emily, however, were the adorable dimples that adorned her facewhenever she smiled.

Sara looked down at the paper in front of Emily. "What are you coloring, Emily?" she asked in a kind, soft voice. The little girl didn't look up or say anything, which didn't surprise Sara in the least. Emily hadn't spoken a word since they found her. They suspected that she had spent about three days alone with no food and only her "brother's" decomposing body for company. So, of course, it was expected that she might be traumatized on some level. This notion broke Sara's already aching heart and she quickly banished the thought from her mind.

The Social Worker's voice brought Sara out of her reverie. "So do you have any news for us? Any new evidence on the location of Emily's mother perhaps?"

"Uh….." A look of panic crossed Sara's face. '_Oh no!_' she thought frantically. '_I can't do this!_' She would have bolted from the room had Emily notlooked up at her at that moment. The sight of her daughter gave Sara the boost of courage she needed. "Actually, yes." The Social Worker's face brightened, but Sara noticed the fear and disappointment in Emily's eyes.

"Well?" Mrs. Miller asked when the CSI didn't continue.

Instead of speaking to the Social Worker, Sara addressed Emily. "Emily?" The girl locked eyes with Sara. "Did you know….that you were adopted?"

Shock and surprise registered on Paige Miller's face, but Emily just stared at Sara. After a few seconds of silence, Mrs. Miller, who had regained her composure, asked, "Emily, do you understand what Ms. Sidle is asking you?" Emily turned to look at the Social Worker, slowly nodded, then turned back to Sara. A moment of akward silence passed before anyone spoke. "So, when you say you've found Emily's mother……you mean her biological mother, right?" Mrs. Miller asked slowly.

"Yes." Sara replied, nodding. She handed the DNA match report to the Social Worker and said, "We, uh, ran some tests and my supervisor brought this to me tonight." Suddenly Sara realized that she had no idea how Grissom had connected her to Emily. '_I'll have to ask him about that later.'_ She thought, shaking off her confusion.

As the Social Worker studied the report she asked, "Who's DNA popped up?"

Sara hesitated again, wanting to run from the room as fast as her legs would take her. But when Emily curiously looked up at her all the fear and insecurity she was feeling vanished. "Mine. My DNA…came up."

For the second time shock and surprise took control of Paige Miller's features. "Uh, wha-, excuse me?" The red-headed Social Worker sputtered. "Did you just say that _you_, are Emily's _mother_?"

Sara nodded nervously and said, "Yes."

Mrs. Miller seemed to contemplate this for a few moments before she said, "Do you have any other proof that you are in fact Emily's biological mother?"

A small smile played at Sara's lips as she thought. "I have her birth certificate at my apartment."

"Well that's a good start."

As if not really hearing what the Social Worker said, Sara continued, "And I have a few pictures of me pregnant, and from the hospitle the day you were born. And I have your ultrasound." Not realizing what she was doing, Sara began speaking to Emily rather than the Social Worker.

"Uh….Ms. Sidle?"

"Huh? I'm, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to get, to get carried away." Sara apologized sheepishly.

"It's ok." Mrs. Miller smiled at her. "Now it's not that I don't believe you, Sara, but I'll need to see all these docuements, and photographs, before we can proceed any further."

"Oh, of course! If you give me twenty minutes I can run to my apart– "

"Ms. Sidle! Please calm down! Now I know you're excited, but there are some things that need to happen before we can let you and Emily be together. First of which, we don't even know how the child in question feels about all this!"

Sara let out a deep breath she didn't realize she was holding. "Sorry. You're right! Didn't mean to get ahead of myself. Again." Sara grinned embarressedly.

"It's alright, dear." Paige Miller said, patting the younger women's hand reassuringly. "Now," she began, turning to Emily. "Emily, Ms. Si– Sara, is your biological mother. That means she's–"

"Are you my _real_ mommy?" Emily asked, cutting the Social Worker off midsentence and locking eyes with Sara once more. The sound of her daughter's voice was sweet as honey in Sara's ears and all of a sudden she felt tears spring into her eyes.

With a big smile Sara slowly nodded. "Yes."

The little girl scrutinized Sara carefully. "For reals?" she asked just as softly as before.

The tears in Sara's eyes threatened to fall. "For reals." she almost whispered.

Before anyone knew what was happening, Emily had shoved her chair back, run around the table, and thrown herself into Sara's arms. Instinctivly, Sara caught the child. She sat there stunned for a split-second as Emily wrapped her little arms aroundher neck and clung to her. As Sara closed her eyes and hugged Emily to her, the tears fell shamelesly from her eyes.

In the observation room, Grissom, Catherine, and Warrick watched all this play out before them. Catherine was freely crying and she could have sworn she heard Warrick _and_ Grissom sniffling as, in the next room, mother and daughter were reunited.

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**A/N: Well I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I'm sorry it took so long for me to update, but I've been swamped with homework and then I got stuck in the middle of writing this chapter! Oh well! I'll try to get the next chapter up ASAP so just bear with me alright! O and the N/S fluff should start to happen in the next 2 chapters (if I plan it just right!) so don't worry cuz the fluffy stuffs-a-comin'! Thanks again to all my readers/reviewers! Don't forget to leave me a review!  
Spooky-Phoenix**


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's Note: Soooooo sorry about how long it's taken for me to update this! This school year has been crazier than I had anticipated so I made this chapter extra long for ya'll! I'm not sure when the next chapter will be up, but stay with me 'cuz it is coming! I'd like to thank everyone who's reviewed so far! Ya'll rock! Well, hope you enjoy this chapter! I don't think it's one of my better ones, but...I'll let ya'll decide for yourselves! BTW: There are long flashbacks in this chapter so...yeah...:)**

**Disclaimer: I, unfortunately, own nothing...except Emily! **

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Sara stumbled into her apartment after shift emotionally and physically exhausted. All she wanted was a bubble bath and to fall into a dreamless sleep. Actually, what she really wanted was to spend time with Emily. The brunette felt a sickening pain in her gut as she thought about her daughter. She thought back to what had happened at the Lab earlier as she plopped down on the couch.

**FLASHBACK**

Sara held her daughter as if she were life itself. She didn't want to let go of Emily for fear she may never get to hold her again. The Social Worker let them have some time to themselves as she spoke to Grissom about the situation at hand.

_Sara carried Emily to the break room down the hall. She continued to hold Emily even as she sat down on the couch. The little girl sat on Sara's lap and the pair just stared at each other, taking in every detail of the other's features. Emily's eyes came to rest on the necklace around Sara's neck. She reached out and fingered the butterfly charm. _

_A small smile tugged at the corners of Sara's mouth as she watched her daughter study the green and silver butterfly. The necklace had been given to Sara by her grandmother when she was around Emily's age and it was very special to her. It used to remind her during the bad times that there was still some good left in the world. _

_Without thinking, Sara reached behind her neck and undid the clasp. Carefully she put the chain around Emily's neck and fastened it. It was a little big on her, but the tiny brunette didn't seem to care. She picked the butterfly up and held it at eye-level, scrutinizing it very carefully. When she seemed satisfied with what she saw, Emily smiled and looked into Sara's eyes. Sara stared back into her daughter's big brown eyes and smiled in return. Emily looked away shyly and glanced around the break room._

_The child's wandering eyes landed on the refrigerator and she gazed at it for a few seconds. She turned back to Sara and in her sweet little voice said, "Mommy, I'm thirsty." The word 'mommy' echoed through Sara's mind and heart and inside she felt happier than she ever felt in her entire life._

"_Well let's see what's in the fridge, sweetie." With a dimple-revealing grin, Emily hopped off Sara's lap and waited for the CSI to stand up. The small child followed Sara to the mini-fridge. "Alright, what do you want?" Sara asked uncertainly. "Water, juice, soda, milk, tea?" _

"_I can have anything I want?" Emily asked wide-eyed. _

_Sara's heart shattered. "Of course." She replied softly._

_Emily looked at her, as if to see if she was being tricked. After a moment she timidly asked, "Can I have some juice? Please?"_

"_Sure." Sara smiled at her and pulled the carton of orange juice out of the mini-fridge. Emily followed her over to the counter and stood on her tiptoes to peek over the top of the counter as she watched Sara pour the juice into a cup._

_The CSI smiled down at the curly-haired little girl and said, "C'mere and drink your juice at the table. She walked over to the break room table and set the cup of orange juice down before helping Emily into one of the chairs. "Do you need a straw?" Emily nodded. _

_As Sara turned back to the counter Catherine and Warrick walked in. They stared at Emily who stared back fearfully. "Oh, hey guys." Sara greeted them as she turned around. "Here, sweetie." She said to Emily, dropping a straw into the cup of juice. _

_Emily glanced up and smiled slightly at Sara who smiled back, resting her hands on the back of Emily's chair. Sara noticed the look in her daughter's eyes when she looked at Catherine and Warrick. She used to look at adults with that same fear when she was a child. _

"_Emily." Sara's voice was confident and reassuring. "You don't have to be scared of them. They're my friends. They won't hurt you." _

_Uncertainly, Emily looked at Catherine and Warrick then glanced back up at Sara who ruffled her hair affectionately._

"_Hi, Emily. I'm Catherine." Catherine smiled kindly at the little girl. "This is my friend Warrick." She added, motioning towards the tall CSI._

"_Hey there, Emily." Warrick greeted with a big smile. Suddenly Emily giggled. Warrick gave Catherine a sideways glance and said, "What's so funny?" Emily glanced at Sara and then back at Warrick and giggled again. "What!" Warrick exclaimed good-naturedly. Emily stood up on the chair she was sitting in and motioned for Sara to lean down. _

_The small child whispered something in Sara's ear, which caused the young woman to grin. Sara straightened up and said, "Uh, Emily says she likes your hair, Warrick, 'cuz it looks like a-a chocolate puppy is sitting on your head." _

_Catherine couldn't contain her laughter. Warrick grinned at the little girl and replied, "I like your hair too, Emily. It looks just like your mom's." _

_Emily studied Sara for a moment then grinned proudly at her. Turning back to Warrick, she bestowed on him one of her irresistible dimpled grins. Sara's heart melted when she saw that smile. _

_Apparently so did Catherine's because she exclaimed, "Awww! Look at those dimples! They're just sooo precious!" Warrick's eyes took on a far-off look, as if he was trying to remember something, but couldn't quite put his finger on what it was. _

_At that moment Paige Miller, the Social Worker, came in, followed by Grissom, and said, "All right, Ms. Sidle. Mr. Grissom and I have talked everything through and we set up a meeting for tomorrow to discuss this further and decide which course of action to take. Like I told you earlier, I'll need to see those documents so don't forget to bring them with you to the meeting tomorrow."_

"_Yes, ma'am." Sara replied happily._

"_Alright, it's settled then. Now, I'm afraid it's time for us to leave." The Social Worker walked over to Emily, who was still standing on her chair. "Come along, Emily. Time to say good-bye." _

_Emily looked back and forth between Sara and Mrs. Miller with a confused look. _

"_C'mon. You'll get to see Sara tomorrow."_

_Emily simply shook her head._

"_Now, Emily, it's already past your bedtime and I'm sure Sara is sleepy too."_

_The little girl glanced at Sara and shook her head, a little more forcefully this time. _

"_Emily! What has gotten into you? It's time to go." Mrs. Miller exclaimed slightly annoyed._

_Emily violently shook her head causing her curls to fly around her face as she clung to Sara. "I don't want to go." She said softly, but firmly. _

_The Social Worker opened her mouth to speak, but Sara beat her to it. "Uh, she can stay with me, I mean I'll take her – "_

"_I'm sorry Sara, but I simply can't allow that. You know if I could I would, but my hands are tied here! Now I need to take Emily back to the Home. We've all had a busy day and need to get some sleep." With that she grabbed Emily's arm and gently tugged on it, trying to get the little girl to let go of Sara._

"_No!" Emily said, burying her face in Sara's neck._

"_Emily." Mrs. Miller tried to persuade. "It's time to go to sleep now, time for us to leave."_

"_No!" Emily repeated as Sara felt a tear hit the side of her neck. _

_The Social Worker shot Sara a look that said 'a little help here, please?'_

"_Emily, sweetheart." Sara said gently. Emily looked up with teary eye. Sara could feel her heart breaking even as she spoke. "You need to go with Mrs. Miller and get some sleep so we can see each other tomorrow."_

_Emily stared at Sara with a betrayed look. "But I don't wanna go." She replied tearfully._

_Sara brought Emily to her in a loving hug. "I know, honey, but you have to." _

_And that's all it took._

_Emily started crying loudly and saying, "N-no! I d-don't wanna g-go! Please d-don't make me g-go! I'll be g-good! I p-promise! Please Mommy!"_

_Sara couldn't take it; she wasn't ready for this. She attempted to hand the hysterical child to the Social Worker, but Emily had her arms wrapped firmly around Sara's neck. With the Social Worker gently tugging on Emily's torso, Sara tried to pry the child's arms from around her neck. After a few seconds of struggling, Sara managed to break free of her daughter's arms, but the stubborn child grabbed her hand and held it in a death grip._

"_Please, Mommy!" Emily sobbed. "Mommy, no! Please!" _

_Tears spilled from Sara's eyes as Emily's small finger's lost their grip on her hand and the Social Worker immediately hurried from the room with the wailing child. _

"_MOMMY! MOMMY! PLEASE!" Emily's screams echoed through the halls. "MOMMY! N-O-O-o-o-o!" Sara ran from the room crying, heading in the opposite direction that Emily and the Social Worker had gone. _

**END OF FLASHBACK **

Shaking herself from her reverie, Sara pushed herself up off the couch with a tired sigh and headed towards her bathroom to take a hot shower. After undressing Sara stepped under the steaming spray. A shiver slipped up her spine as she felt her body relax. Her thoughts drifted to Nick for some reason and Sara found herself reliving another memory from earlier that night.

**FLASHBACK**

_Running teary eyed down the hall Sara had no idea where she was going. She eventually found herself on the roof of the Crime Lab. Thinking she was alone, Sara dropped to her knees and broke down and started sobbing. She was so consumed by her thoughts that Sara didn't notice Nick until he placed a hand on her shoulder._

_Sara jumped and looked up into Nick's big brown eyes. "Oh! …Nick!" she said, whipping at the tears on her face and looking away so he couldn't see the pain in her eyes._

"_Sara….are you ok? What happened? Why are you crying?" _

_The concern in Nick's voice was too much for Sara to bear. She stood up without looking at him and walked over to the ledge. Sara crossed her arms over her chest and stared out at the night sky. _

"_Sara?" _

_Nothing,_

"……_.Sara?"_

_Still she said nothing._

"_You know what? Fine! I don't even know why I bother! I'll go get Grissom for you all right? Will that make you happy!" Nick spat. _

_Choking out a sob, Sara turned to look at his retreating figure, confusion and guilt clouding her eyes. _

"……_Nick…..wait…" _

_Nick stopped but kept his back to her. _

"_Nick…….I-I'm sorry. Really." _

_Nick turned at her apology and looked into her eyes. _

"_It's just….everything's so….." The thought of the night's events brought tears to Sara's eyes once more. She turned away form Nick again not wanting him to see her cry. In two strides Nick was at her side. _

"_Sara, what's wrong, honey?" _

_Taking a deep breath, Sara started to explain. "Gris, caught a break in our case."_

"_Really?……Well that's good…." Nick said._

"_Yeah. He-he found Emily's mother. Her biological mother." Tears began to fill Sara's eyes again. _

"_Whoa…..adopted? Never would've thought…who's….?"_

"_It's me." Sara whispered, turning away from Nick once more as tears slipped down her cheeks. _

_Nick stared, flabbergasted, at Sara's back for a few moments, letting her words sink in. Finally, without a word, he came up behind Sara and wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her against him and holding her close. He rested his head on top of her's as she turned her head into the crook of his neck. When Sara realized what was happening she pulled away form Nick……._

…_..only to turn around in his arms and bury her face in his shoulder. Nick wrapped his strong arms around her once more and held her as close to him as he could. He placed a soft kiss on top of her head when the tears finally stopped and said, "C'mon. I'll take you home."_

**END OF FLASHBACK**

Sara turned off the water in the shower, put her p.j.'s on and crawled into bed, thinking about the feeling of Nick's arms around her. It was something she decided that she definitely wanted to feel again. '_Wait! Do I like Nick?' _she thought. "No. It can't be. He's my best friend." She thought aloud. An image of her and Nick on the rooftop of the Lab holding onto one another flashed before her eyes, followed by an image of Nick kissing her after a romantic date. "Oh my gosh……..I'm falling for Nick!"

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**Don't forget to leave me a review! Thanks!  
Spooky-Phoenix**


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